Therapeutic Benefits of Medical Cannabis for Older Adults

According to a new study in the journal Drugs and Aging, cannabis-based products can be effective in enhancing the health, well-being, sleep, and mood of older adults.

Key Findings

Pain Reduction: The study reported significant reductions in pain severity and interference among older adults with chronic pain.

General Health: Improvements in general health and well-being were consistent after three months of treatment.

Mood and Sleep: It showed significant reductions in mood being depressed and in sleep difficulties.

The Research

The work was a collaboration between Drug Science and Imperial College London and looked at the data from the T21 study of older people prescribed medicinal cannabis products across the UK. The results are contrary to the fact that there is no high-quality, evidence-based research available for the use of marijuana in older patients.

Patient Outcomes

Self-Reported Measures: Improvements included the quality of life, general health, mood, and sleep, as reported by the patients.

Comparison with Younger Patients

Though quality of life and mood improvements were slightly less in older patients compared with those under 65 years, the outcomes realized were still beneficial.

Prescription Patterns

Older patients were more likely to receive CBD-dominant oil and less likely to receive THC-dominant flower by prescription. They also had a lesser chance of having experience with marijuana in the past.

Implications

The study serves to fill a research gap in marijuana, indicating that older adults can find significant health benefits with medical cannabis.

Context

Recently, the number of clinical trials using psychedelic-assisted therapy for chronic pain in older adults funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States has increased.